4 reasons you can be more dehydrated during perimenopause and menopause
During perimenopause and menopause, four main factors increase your risk of becoming more dehydrated, mostly hormonal changes and declining oestrogen levels, which directly and also indirectly affect hydration levels. So, let’s take a closer look at these 4 main reasons:
1. Decline in Oestrogen Levels
Oestrogen helps to maintain our skin’s hydration and also the hydration and support of the mucous membranes. That's areas like your vagina, your bladder, your mouth and your eyes. So, as oestrogen levels decrease, that has a negative influence on the way that your body can remain hydrated.
As oestrogen drops, it's much harder for your body to stay hydrated.
2. Night sweats and Hot Flushes
75% of you will experience these at some time. And even the odd hot flush or night sweat is going to cause significant fluid loss.
These are going to make it even harder for the body to stay hydrated properly.
3. Changes in Thirst Regulation
The next cause involves the way that you feel thirsty, making you feel less thirsty. Oestrogen affects our thirst mechanism, so we may feel less thirsty as oestrogen levels drop, even though our body is crying out for more water.
You end up drinking less again, even when you really need it.
4. Increased Bladder/Urinary Issues
There are several things that can happen here. Our bladder can become very irritated, so we can end up running to the toilet a lot more. You're losing fluids little and often, especially if you're having to get up two or three times during the night.
Especially at night time, we may think, ‘If I drink less, then I will go to the toilet less often’. But of course, that's not what happens. Your bladder ends up getting more and more irritated by urine that’s becoming more and more concentrated.
So, this is another one of these vicious cycles. You drink less to go less, and your urine becomes more acidic and irritating, then you end up going to the toilet more often.
Signs that you are dehydrated
Number one is fatigue, and we know how common that is in the perimenopause and menopause.
Your urine will become very dark and probably have quite a strong smell. You may find that you get dizzy and you may experience some mental confusion. You may find that your mouth, your lips and your tongue can get very dry too.
How much should you be drinking every day?
We're looking at a litre and a half of plain water. Now, it needs to be plain water. Fizzy water doesn't count. Juices, fizzy juices, tea and coffee, herb teas: none of these drink count towards the litre and a half of water. It really needs to be plain water.
A litre and a half of plain water, over and above whatever else you happen to be drinking during the day.
Next week I will talk about symptoms that can occur when you're dehydrated, even some really surprising ones, and also some easy ways that you can increase your water intake.
I hope you found this helpful. It is a really important one, and it’s amazing the number of people that get back to me when all they have done is increase their water, and it has made such a huge difference. This is really such an easy one to sort.
For those of you that have tried it, what was the outcome? What symptoms improved for you? You know I love to read all your stories. I'll see you next time. Have a lovely week.
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Menopause and Dehydration: Signs you need to drink more water
